Submarine



Feb. 16, 1943. 1 A, HANLEY 2,311,539

SUBMARINE Y Filed Oct. 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 -i e Il H INVENTOR John, A Hanley ATTORNEYS Feb.16, 1943. l 1A. HANLEY 2,311,539

SUBMARINE Filed oct. 4, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 VIII ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 1e, 194s UNITED STATES @ATENT OFFICE SUBMARINE John A. Hanley, Noroton, Conn.

Application October 4, 1940, Serial No. 359,637

9 Claims.

The present invention is concerned particularly with the art of submarine warfare.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a submarine boat construction of miniature size that yet carries and launches full sized torpedoes and that may be manufactured in quantity production, operated by a small crew and maintained at low cost, and that has a high degree of maneuvering ability to be readily navgated through mined and shallow waters, and that may be readily brought without detection into close proximity to the target, and that therefore has high potential destructiveness at small risk to crew and craft.

Another object is to provide a submarine of the above type, that can be easily carried by and serviced with power and torpedoes from a larger or mother ship from which it can be easily launched and to which it returns after its errand, dispensing with much of the complexity and hazards ofsubmarines as now known.

Another object is to provide equipment for launching full size torpedoes from a miniature size submarine, by which the launching is performed mechanically, desirably by a manual operation and by which weight is automatically restored to the torpedo tube as the torpedo is launched therefrom, thereby to maintain the equilibrium of the craft.

In a 4desirable application, the submarine structure is in the order of but twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) feet long, with an approximate displacement in the order of six (6) tons. The craft is designed to be carried upon battleships, cruisers and destroyers and also upon merchant vessels, to be launched therefrom in the manner of a tender or life-boat. The submarine is devoid of battery charging means, re charging being effected by the generating equipment of the mother ship after the submarine returns from its mission. The crew is protected from battery gases by means of conduits leading from the battery casings to a Vent covered by a spring loaded Valve at the hull of the craft. All of the controls are readily accessible at a single control compartment, of which the conning tower is the upper part, an auxiliary floor for the conning tower retracted in sub-surface use and readily placed in operative position being used in surface cruising, the crew when standing in such auxiliary iloor having access to such of the controls as are needed for surface operation.

Another feature is the simple, mechanically operated torpedo launching equipment; which automatically and inherently is so interlocked with the torpedoes that onlir one of said torpedoes can be launched at a time and after launching thereof the equipment becomes automatically set for launching the second torpedo.

The full size torpedo being of length and displacement that is substantial relative to the length and displacement of the craft itself, should be replaced by water during and after launching to avoiddestroying the equilibrium of the craft as a result of removal of a torpedo. This result is accomplished by alfording an inlet at the front of the hull for the admission of water to fill the space vacated by the torpedo.

1n the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the submarine,

Fig. 2 is a View in longitudinal cross-section taken on line 2-.2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a View in transverse cross-section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation on a larger scale of the nose of the submarine,

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view on a larger scale taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is a transverse fragmentary sectional view taken on line 'I-l Aof Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 8'-8 of Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal cross-section on a larger scale through the battery venting Valve,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view of the auxiliar or emergency battery venting equipment,

Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the retractible auxiliary oor construction, and

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing said iioor construction put together in inobtrusive relation.

Referring now to the drawings, the submarine has a miniature hull I0, only about 20 to 25 feet in length. Water ballast distributed in chambers II along the Wall of the hull leaves and enters the hull through an inlet and outlet port I2. The usual vertical rudder is shown at I 3 and the horizontal rudders at I4 and I5. The adjustable periscope appears at I6 and its casing aty I'I. The batteries are distributed as usual in a multiplicity of battery casings I8 along the iioor of the hull. An electric motor I9 driven from said batteries is disposed substantially amidship, immediately in back of the control compartment 20 and is conpeller shaft 22 to the screw propeller 23.

nected through reduction gearing 2| by pro- The overall height of the craft amidships is not over seven feet, inclusive of the shallow conning tower 24 equipped with windows 25 and closed at its top by a hatch 26 laterally hinged at 21.

In front of the control compartment are the torpedo tubes, desirably two in number 28 and 29 which extend parallel to each other one above the other with their axes in the axial plane of the craft. These tubes for full size torpedoes are of length nearly half that of the entire miniature craft. Their construction and the mode of torpedo launching will be set forth below.

The craft is devoid of any generator or of any internal combustion engine as the prime mover.

for battery charging or for surface propulsion. The battery cables extend through a conduit 3|, to terminals 32 in the hull, to which connection may be made from an external source, ordinarily the. generator on the mother ship.

The battery gas is exhausted through a port 33 at the upper part of the hull preferably amidships, to which gasing conduits 34 from the various battery casings extend. That port is covered by a check valve 35 urged against its seat 36 in a cage 31 by a coil spring 38 about valve stem 39 and loaded suiiciently to crack off its seat when the gas pressure is somewhat above atmospheric. Desirably a branch conduit 40 from conduit 34 leads to an auxiliary vent 4| closed by a hand valve 42, which would be opened if for any reason the check valve 35 should jam. A pressure gauge 43 is desirably provided in said branch conduit. A cock 44 in branch pipe 4U serves to drain any water. Such water might be pumped out of the craft by water pump 45 which discharges by way of conduit 46 through port 41 in the rear of the hull.

vAside from the electric motor, the water pump 45 is the only power mechanism on the craft.

The torpedo tubes The torpedo tubes 28 and 29 are desirably connected by a web comprising a pair 1of parallel walls 48 and 49 integral or rigid with the respective tubes, the assembly of tubes and webs constituting a single water-tight enclosure generally -shaped. The torpedoes T1 and T2 of generally conventional construction arev lodged within the tubes and are launched in succession. The torpedo launching means comprises a traveler 50 in the form of a nut confined between the lateral walls 48 and 49 of the web, through which extends a threaded rod 5| centrally of the web, protruding through a stuing box 52 at the forward wall of the control compartment 20 and carrying a hand wheel 53 at said end. Torpedo launching ejectors desirably in the form of yokes 54 and 55 are mounted upon the traveler 59. Ejector 54 is hinged at 56 to the upper end of the traveler 53 and ejector 55 is similarly hinged at 51 to the lower end thereof, said ejectors extending to the rear of the respective torpedoes. The ejectors are interlocked by linkage, desirably comprising a pair of links each pivoted at 59 near its middle to the rear of the traveler 50 and each having a downwardly extending leg 60 coacting at its Gutturned toe 5| with the ejector 55 near the hinge thereof. Upwardly extending arms 62 of the links are desirably crossed as shown and coact at their outer ends with the ejector 54. The ejector yoke 54 is bevelled off laterally atn63 lfor coaction with the bevelled end s '5.4 of the linkage arm's 52. Accordingly when the hand wheel 53 is being turned, the traveler in its advance along the screw rod 5| will exert pressure through the arms G2 against the ejector 54 and through the latter against the upper torpedo T1. The hinged ejector 54 is therefore kept by the arms 62 from movement about its hinge, and is effective to launch torpedo Ti. The bevels 64 drawing the arms 62 inward by a cam action, cause the toes 5| at the lower ends of said linkage to move toward each other to clear the ejector yoke 55, so that the latter will hinge freely upon the traveler and ride over the lower torpedo T2 during the launching operation of the upper torpedo. After the upper torpedo T1 has been launched, the ejector yoke 54 is no longer retained in upright position and it drops freely by gravity forward to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. '1. As a conl sequence, a coil spring 65 between the two legs 60 and below the threaded rod 5| pushes the toes 6| of the legs 50 apart. As soon as the hand wheel 53 has been turned sufciently to bring the ejector 55 `back above the reduced tail of the lower torpedo, it will hinge forward to vertical position; The toes 6| of legs 69 now block yoke 55 from hinging backward. Accordingly,l when the hand wheel 53 is now turned, the lower yoke or ejector is effective to launch the lower torpedo.

VBefore launching either torpedo the doors 65, that cap the torpedo tubes and areV shown in Figsml and 5 at the nose of the craft must be opened. These doors are weldedV or riveted to hinge plates 58 onl the hull and the hinge pins 69 of said doors which-are rigid with the doors themselves are connected by an appropriate transmission to a rod 10 manipulated at itsinner end from the control chamber. The rod '13 meshes by means of a pair of miter pinions 1|, 12 with a transverse shaft 13 the end's of which have beveled pinions 14 meshing with corresponding pinions 15 upon Vthe upper extremities of the respective doorl hinges. Y

Desirably each torpedo is retained against movement within the corresponding torpedo tube by means of clamping bolts 16 accessible from' the control compartment, which grip the respectivetorpedoes and are manually loosened by turning handles 11 thereof, before launching the torpedo. Y

It will thus be seen that the torpedoes are launched successively and manually.r ln said launching operation, water entersv the respective torpedo tubes to replace the volume occupied by the torpedo as it is launched, so that disturbance in the equilibrium of the craft which would otherwise be incurred, is avoided.

Control and auxiliary equipment The various control apparatus are all in the single median control compartment 20 and this includes the motor control lever 18, the vertical rudder control 19 and the horizontal rudder lcontrol 80, the mechanical torpedo discharge gear 53 and other controls referred to below. All of those controls that are used only in surface operation are disposed within the conning tower 24 and are readily accessible however by the 0perator standingon the floor 'of the craft as shown in Fig. 2. For surface operation, the 'crew must stand on a platform at the base of the conning tower. That platform is retracted during submarine operation 'as shown in Fig. 12, to' inobtrusive 'position' to afford standing room for the crew. By .means of a ladder 8| the crew may readily climb from the floor of the craft Ytof-the conning towerv ilo'or which is readily' extended or opened as shown in Fig. ll. To this end the floor is desirably made of a number of planks hinged to each other as at 82 at their upper edges. Desirably the iirst, second and fourth planks 83, 84 and 85 are of equal width, the third plank 86 being of width only equal to its thickness and the fth plank 81 of Width twice the thickness. As a consequence, as best shown in Fig. 12, the iioor may be readily rolled or tucked away into a compact inobtrusive bundle as shown in Fig. l2, with planks 83, 84 and 85 in superposed relation, with narrow plank 86 against the end of plank 83 and with plank 81 extending across the ends of superposed planks 83 and 34. The retracted floor assembly rests upon ledges 88. There are two hinged oor assemblies, one extending forward from the back of the conning tower to the mid section of the conning tower and the other backward from the front. It is seen that the structure described comprises a particularly strong, simple, inexpensive and ea.,- ily manufactured auxiliary retractable floor that can be tucked away readily and as readily extended for use.

The compressed air ilask 89 connected by conduit 9B to ballast compartments Il serves for ballast control, and is governed from hand wheel 9|. A compressed air ask 92 opening into the control compartment and serving for compensating the inside pressure is controlled from hand Wheel 93. There is also an oxygen flask 94 for the crew, the valve 95 of which is readily accessible from the front of the control compartment.

General utility and operation Battery charging is effected by plugging leads from the generator on the mother ship into the battery terminals exposed at 32' on the submarine hull.

With its batteries and torpedo tubes charged the submarine would be launched by davit or standard hoisting gear from the destroyer, cruiser, battleship or merchantman on which it is carried. It would immediately submerge and head for the enemy objective, discharging its torpedoes at close range, return to its vessel, rise to the surface, and be hoisted aboard by hooking at hoisting eyes 95. After recharging the batteries, and introducing fresh torpedoes the craft is ready for relaunching.

The craft being of miniature size with the elimination of elaborate control mechanism, is of low cost, and requires but a small crew of two or three men, preferably an observer, a navigator and a torpedo man. The vessel is not subject to many of the hazards of larger and more complicated craft of that type. By reason of its small size, the hull of the craft if of standard thickness is much stronger than that of larger submarines, and can carry relatively heavier and more powerful motive equipment, for propulsion at to 25 knots per hour and a radius of action of approximately 100 to 150 miles, and it can also navigate at4 greater depths and is more resistant to depth charges, apart from the fact that by virtue of its miniature size it is far less likely to be struck. By virtue of its small size and ability to navigate at greater depth the submarine can come closer to its target than a larger submarine and can deliver its full size torpedo with greater accuracy and greater destructiveness. The craft could readily be equipped with one or more machine guns and with small cannon.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be' made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A submarine torpedo launching device comprising a pair of torpedo tubes, a pair of mechanically operated ejectors in back of said tubes, common means for advancing both of said ejectors concurrently and means controlled from one of said ejectors .to render the other inoperative with respect to the remaining torpedo while said ejector is performing a launching operation.

2. Torpedo launching means comprising a pair of parallel torpedo tubes, ejectors in the respective tubes to engage the rears of the respective torpedoes, a common operating means extending between said tubes, for advancing both of said ejectors forward concurrently and means controlled from one of said ejectors to render the other inoperative while its companion is launching the corresponding torpedo.

3. Torpedo launching means comprising a pair of torpedo tubes, a torpedo launching propelling rod extending between and parallel to said tubes, torpedo ejectors correlated with said rod, means for simultaneously advancing said ejectors with respect to said rod in torpedo launching operation, and an interlocking linkage between said ejectors to disengage one of said ejectors while its companion is performing its function.

4. Torpedo launching means comprising a pair of torpedo tubes, a threaded rod parallel to and between said torpedo tubes, a travelling nut thereabout, a pair of torpedo ejectors movably mounted with respect to said nut to engage the rears of the respective torpedoes and linkage controlled from one of said ejectors to disable the other while said ejector is launching a torpedo.

5. Torpedo launching means comprising a pair of torpedo tubes, a threaded rod parallel to and between said tubes, a travelling nut thereabout, a pair of torpedo ejectors, hinged with respect to said nut, and an interlocking linkage between said ejectors, comprising links pivoted to said nut, cam means on one of said ejectors displacing said links to disengage the opposite ends thereof with respect to the other ejector while the rst ejector is pressing against the associated torpedo, whereby the former remains idle in the pushing operation against the latter, and spring means coacting with said links for setting said other ejector into operative position for propulsion of the second torpedo thereby.

6. Torpedo launching equipment comprising a pair of parallel torpedo tubes, a pair of walls connecting the adjacent parts of said tubes and determining therewith a water-tight cavity of transverse cross-section in substantially the form of the gure '8, a mechanically operated travelling member between the two parallel walls, torpedo ejector members associated with said travelling member and extending across the ends of the respective torpedoes and interlocking means between said ejector members for assuring inoperativeness of one` of the ejectors while the other is operating, and after ejection of lthe torpedo automatically setting into operative position the other ejector for launching the remaining torpedo, the forward end of the torpedo boat being open for charging said tubes with water as the torpedoes are ejected therefrom.

7. A torpedo launching construction comprising a pair of parallel torpedo tubes, a hollow web connection therebetween, a threaded rod within and longitudinally of said Web connection, a stuiling box at the inner end thereof, and manual operating means for turning said rod, a nut upon said threaded rod Within said web, a, pair of yokes hinged to said nut and extending across the ends of the respective torpedoes, an interlocking'linkage between said yokes, said linkage being pivoted to said nut and having one pair of arms extending across the back of one of said yokes, and one pair of legs extending across the back ofthe other said yoke, said rst yoke having a cam construction operative during the pushing or expelling action thereof to draw the opposite ends of said arms toward each other for releasing the companion yoke from said legs to permit the latter yoke to hinge into inactive action over the corresponding torpedo during launching of the rst torpedo and to separate said legs to retain the latter yoke in operative position after the nut has been returned following the launching of the rst torpedo.

8. A portable submarine comprising a hull having a pair of torpedo tubes near the forward end thereof with torpedo ejection means, the forward end of said hull affording an inlet for water to replace the launched torpedo, a conning tower in back of said torpedo tubes, having control equipment therein for navigating on the surface, further control equipment below said conning tower for submarine navigation, and a displaceable floor for the conning tower, in idle position during submarine navigation.

9. A hinged retractable floor for the cunning tower of a submarine made up of a pair of oor sections respectively aflixed at the forward and rear ends of such conning tower with the two sections substantially abutting amidships in extended position of the oor, each floor section comprising a succession of planks, successively hinged to each other at their upper edges, the third plank being of Width equal to its thickness, the fth plank of width equal to twice its thickness and the remaining planks of equal width, whereby the oor may be readily rolled up into a compact bundle.

JOHN A. HANLEY. 

